Taiwan Election Results: Positive for India and Negative for China
President-elect Lai Ching-te, a ‘pragmatic worker for Taiwan’s independence’ has his work cut out but India is weighing its options with the Straits keeping China in mind.
Srikanth Kondapalli
Dean, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India.
China’s Economic and Military Shifts in 2023
All of China’s biggest economic trading partners - the US, Europe, the ASEAN, Japan and South Korea – are upset over its aggressive behaviour. 2023 did not provide any succour to a China that was straining to come out of the Covid pandemic, neither on the domestic front nor on the external front.
Chinese Expansionism in Bhutan: A Threat to India’s Security
In 1910, China’s warlord Zhao Erfeng dreamt of controlling the five Himalayan states of Tibet, Bhutan, Ladakh, Nepal and Sikkim. China’s current leadership has stepped up efforts to fulfil that dream, with the latest inroads being made in Bhutan.
India’s Tech Opportunity in US-China Chip Rivalry
The US-China technology Cold War and China’s quest to expand indigenous capacity and self-reliance, as the US denies seeks to deny China hi-tech components for military use, are all shaping recent dynamics.
Expanding BRICS: Emerging Interests and Continuing Agendas
While the 15th BRICS summit meeting, held in Johannesburg, South Africa from August 22 to 24, reiterated many points it stood for in the past decade and a half, the latest iteration is significant. For one, West Asia, which is currently witnessing a power transition, has attracted the attention of BRICS.
Qin Gang’s Expulsion: Mayhem in China’s Heaven
The ouster of China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang, after only six months in that post, and the recalling of his senior Wang Yi to it, has exposed the rot in China’s higher echelons and the vulnerabilities of the second largest economy in the world.